He acknowledged the plan to increase to staff did not materialize as police shifted officers to cover major urban events like All-Star week.

Blackwell did say that foot patrols and the gang unit are helping to stabilize violent crime.

"We're at 46 homicides, right now," Blackwell said. "Baltimore had 46, 45 homicides last month and we're at 46 for the entire year. We're doing the best we can."

Neighborhood leaders and residents have praised the police efforts, but their problems still persist.

LaMonica Sherman, a social service worker, related how a Winton Hills mother has been through the wringer this year as a repeated crime victim facing a financial struggle at the same time.

"Her house being broken in three times," Sherman said. "She worked second shift. She had to quit her job just because of her house being broke in."

Police data reports that citywide violent crime was 6 percent higher last month. There was a 14 percent decrease in the number of arrests.

"It's still hot," Blackwell said. "And last year and every year we see a spike, not only in early summer, but we also see a spike in late summer when the kids go back to school. We're cognizant of that and we're aware that we need to be hyper vigilant and hyper visible. We also have a great institution that kids are back at starting this weekend at the University of Cincinnati and so we're shifting some resources to the periphery of the UC campus."

Some street-level activists vow to keep pressure on the mayor to follow-up from these neighborhood listening sessions and find an alternative to police contact to reach youth who getting caught up in the dead-end of gun violence.

The next community forum to discuss city crime is violence will be 4 p.m. Aug. 19 at the old Hoffman School building, now known as The Village, 3060 Durrell Ave., Evanston. There will also be a meeting at 1 p.m. Aug. 20 at the Price Hill Recreation Center, 959 Hawthorne Ave. The public is invited to attend the meetings.